PANAJI
The once-flourishing cashew crop – the livelihood for several hundred farmers across Goa – is struggling due to low production and profit margins. Shrinking plantations, infestation of trees, lack of support to the farmers, and unscientific farm practices are choking the once gainful, employment-oriented industry.
The Goa Forest Development Corporation (GFDC), which has 6,500 ha of cashew plantation – almost 12.5 per cent of the total 56,000 ha of cashew plantation – has taken the lead to rejuvenate or revitalise. The Corporation is set to spend over Rs 31 crore to revive the cashew yield over a period till 2032–33.
This 6,500 ha of plantations was handed over by the Forest Department to the Corporation after its formation in April 1997 on lease for a period of 40 years.
The plantations were maintained well till the mid-80s, but thereafter proper management was not carried out. As a result, these plantations were infested with heavy weed, climbers, parasites, etc. Most of the plantations are now covered with thorny bushes, creepers and useless undergrowth, with hardly 20 to 30 trees per ha, which too are struggling hard from the stranglehold of the weeds and thorny bamboos to survive and produce fruits and nuts.
GFDC Chairperson Deviya Rane expressed great concern over Goa’s cashew industry, which is slowly dying out due to various reasons. She said that Goa’s cashew production currently stands at 430 kg per ha, much lower than the national average of 750 kg per ha.
Informing that GFDC has introduced a scheme called ‘Financial Assistance for Rejuvenation of Cashew Plantation (Year 2024–25 to 2032–33)’, Rane said that it is high time that the State agriculture department takes the initiative to train our farmers in the latest techniques and provide the required financial support to ensure that the cashew crop once again becomes profit-oriented.
Rane said that most of the cashew processing industries such as nut processing, feni-making, nut shell liquid, etc., depend on GFDC estates for their raw material and hence, the Corporation took the lead to revive cashew plantations.
Under the scheme, the Corporation has proposed to take up 1,240 ha of the area for rejuvenation of cashew plantation by replanting good-quality cashew seedlings with maintenance over a period of five years.
As per the proposal, in the current year 2024–25, the Corporation intends to take up 120 ha for the rejuvenation of cashew plantation and 280 ha for each subsequent year from 2025–26 to 2028–29 by engaging local labourers.
The process will include rejuvenating the old cashew plantation by replacing old, senile, moribund, non-yielding cashew trees with high-yielding varieties of cashew for higher productivity and yield to maximise profits.
“The successful implementation of this proposed scheme with the adoption of scientific production technology will ensure the raw nut yield of 1 to 1.5 tonnes per hectare from the 5th year, thereby proportional monetary returns. Besides this, cashew apple average yield of 5 to 6 tonnes per ha will bring additional income from the plantations,” she explained.
